According to the lawsuit filed by attorney Eugene LaVergne Jersey Shore producers engaged in “criminal enterprise” by airing the fights and therefore profiting off of them. According to the Associated Press, Superior Court Judge Joseph L. Foster refused to dismiss the claim that the defendants’ (MTV/Jersey Shore/Ronnie Magro) conduct violated New Jersey’s racketeering statute.

As Examiner.com reported in March, LaVergne filed the lawsuit on behalf of three of his clients. The original lawsuit also claimed his clients, Stephen Izzo, Jr., and couple “JT” and “KP”, were shown in a bad light during Jersey Shore Season 1. (For the record – after the lawsuit was filed Izzo was arrested and charged assaulting a New Jersey cop). The judge, however, threw out those claims. In the past, LaVergne has also tried using the same argument to stop MTV from distributing a DVD of the first season and from re-airing the fight episodes, but those motions were denied as well.

The lawsuit that remains against the MTV Jersey Shore producers seeks unspecified monetary damages on behalf of Izzo, “JT” and “KP”. All three were involved in two drunken fights with Jersey Shore cast member Ronnie Magro. The case returns to court on May 28.